The Texas-born defensive lineman and former captain, who called Canada home for 40 years, died early Thursday, at 63.

Former Argo captain and Grey Cup champ Bruce Smith found a different world when he came to Hamilton to play pro football in 1972.

By:Andrew LivingstoneStaff Reporter, Published on Fri Jan 04 2013

Having grown up in southern Texas, Bruce Smith was skeptical of the sincerity of Canadians when he first moved here to play professional football as a rookie in 1972.

“I had picked cotton in the fields and rode in the back of the bus,” he told the Star in 2004. “It’s like living in another world from where I came from.”

Some 40 years later, Smith, who retired a Toronto Argonaut and went on to help underprivileged youth in the city, died early Thursday morning of pancreatic cancer.

He was 63.

A successful real estate business owner — he was one of Canada’s top-selling agents during his career — he was a man of many words, working as a motivational speaker sharing his wisdom and experience with youth and adults across the country.

George Marcello met Smith at the back of a St. Clair Ave. barbershop in March 2000. Planning a 12,000-km walk across Canada to bring awareness to a shortage of organ and tissue donors, the Step by Step CEO connected instantly to Smith.

When Marcello began the walk on June 20, 2000, Smith was there. Almost daily, Smith would call to keep his spirits up. More than two years later, Smith was on hand to congratulate Marcello for completing his challenging journey.

“I would not have been able to complete the journey without Bruce, and learn all the things he taught me during the journey,” Marcello said. “He became my mentor up to this day.”

After retiring from the CFL in 1979, Smith spent a lot of his time working with underprivileged kids and helping non-profit groups raise money for the less fortunate.

The catalyst for his future success, football gave Smith a path to a college education and a life he had barely dreamed of.

“I know, for myself, that was really the impetus for me to move forward in my life, and I know hundreds and hundreds of guys that can say the same thing,” Smith told the Telegraph-Journal in 2011 of his life growing up in a broken home in Huntsville, Texas.

Smith went to the University of Colorado on a scholarship. His CFL career began in Hamilton in 1972, winning a Grey Cup in his rookie season. He went on to play in Ottawa and Edmonton before signing with the Argos in 1976.

Smith was known for his defensive prowess as captain of the famed Argos “Dirty Dozen” defence from 1976 to 1979, when he retired.

The rock-solid lineman, known as Grizzly Bear to his teammates, channelled his drive and dedication on the field into more than four decades of off-the-field success.

A born-again Christian, Smith became an ordained chaplain at King Bay Chaplaincy in 1999. He also worked with Upper Canada College’s Chaplain Service.

Smith is survived by his wife, Shirley, daughter Courtne and son Coby.

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